1996 Camry Timing Belt Problem

[dreef1999]

Hello,
I went through to replace my timing belt, seals, and o-ring and when I got everything put back together the car won't fire up. Not even notable coughs or sputters. Crank and crank with nothing.
1996 camry 2.2l

Where can i start troubleshooting this? Between now and next weekend I only have evenings after work to work on the car so if there is any simple suggestions that might be the problem I would love to hear it.

This forum and the diy sections have been immensely helpful to me so far and I desperately hope I can get this car working again in short order.

Thanks alot,
A noobie.

[JohnGD]

I think one member had a similar problem. Double checked crank and cam timing marks (timing was off) and fired right up.

[dreef1999]

double checking my timing is going to be my first order of business when i get the opportunity. I thought I was diligent about getting the timing belt but results speak louder than words.

Any other possibilities that I should check as well?
1. Remove top timing cover and check my timing.
2. ??
3. Profit!

[mail2_jb]

I just finished the TB job yesterday on 2000 camry. Spent almost 30 min aligning the marks on the crank. When I tension the tensioner, the crank pulley was rotating sometimes and had to try atleast 5-6 times to align the marks. Crank was easily rotated with my own hands, so that made it very easy to mis-align the marks.
Double check the marks and all connections (alt, ground etc). I got a CEL without connecting eveything (was testing before I put alt/ps belts), but once eveything is put together no issues at all

[dreef1999]

So I took the day off of work and just finished getting this sorted out. I had the same issue in that the top was spinning a bit everytime i let the tensioner out. Took me multiple tries but I finally got it right. Spun it lots of times just to make sure and have it all buttoned up now.

Thanks for the helpful suggestions. Reading through this forum has taught me a lot.

Car is running great now, maybe the next step is the valve cover, spark plug wells all had oil in them

[JohnGD]

For the valve cover make sure to clean the seal surface with alcohol and allow to dry. Use dabs of RTV at the specified points. You should retorque the spark plug tube nuts after a few thermo cycles. They like to loosen up. The new ones take only 17 lb/ft, instead of the 33 lb/ft for the old material.

This is a good time to change the PCV valve and grommet. Because the grommet hardens with heat and like to crumble and fall into the cover during removal. So when you have the cover off it's the best time to do this.

Originally Posted by dreef1999

So I took the day off of work and just finished getting this sorted out. I had the same issue in that the top was spinning a bit everytime i let the tensioner out. Took me multiple tries but I finally got it right. Spun it lots of times just to make sure and have it all buttoned up now.

Thanks for the helpful suggestions. Reading through this forum has taught me a lot.

Car is running great now, maybe the next step is the valve cover, spark plug wells all had oil in them

[sabbates]

How many teeth do you think you were off?

I'm trying to determine if my 99 camry might be off in timing.

It keeps throwing P0171 and P1133 and has glowing hot exhaust manifold, even after replacing Air/Fuel ratio sensor, among other things.

It runs well, though, and idles at 700-800 RPM.

If the timing is off by a tooth, will cars typically run well?

[SilverSoarer]

JohnGD may know the answer to this.

When using a impact gun with compressor to remove the crankshaft bolt - with nothing moving in the old timing belt - is it necessary to actually align the new timing belt with timing marks ?

Reason I ask, I've been told Toyota techs (using air compressors) rarely if ever have to align the belt since nothing is disturbed or moved when using an impact wrench - they simply slip on the new belt.

[Mister_Perkins]

If the belt didnt break, the Camshaft and Crankshaft are aligned at TDC and the Crankshaft or camshaft pulley doesnt move when removing the crank bolt with an impact, then no further adjustments are necessary. It's always a good idea to double check the alignment marks to make sure they are still at 0, but it should be fairly quick as far as re-installation.

[SilverSoarer]

Originally Posted by Mister_Perkins

If the belt didnt break, the Camshaft and Crankshaft are aligned at TDC and the Crankshaft or camshaft pulley doesnt move when removing the crank bolt with an impact, then no further adjustments are necessary. It's always a good idea to double check the alignment marks to make sure they are still at 0, but it should be fairly quick as far as re-installation.

Well that's the thing, the Toyota techs don't bother to check TDC if nothing moves - simply a new belt is slipped on.

[Mister_Perkins]

Well if the timing belt hadn't slipped, then when the new belt is slipped over the motor is still going to be in the exact position from when it was removed. So you dont actually need to check if its at Top Dead Center. like I said though, its always a good idea to confirm this. Especially on higher mileage timing intervals because the belt can slip a tooth or two.

I check the Timing position 100% of the time just to be safe.

[Mister_Perkins]

heres a crappy diagram of what's happening to help you understand:

If your belt breaks, you rotate the crank and Camshaft to TDC on the compression stroke (shown with green arrows).

If you are just replacing the belt, you can just slip the old belt off and put the new one on. I showed a timing belt being pulled off and installed (blue lines). Once you rotate the motor around after installing the belt, as you can see the belt is still going to be aligned correctly. This is all good, unless the belt has slipped teeth.



Note: The Red is the belt. obviously

[pmesfun]

The toyota tech that replaced my crank gear used a impact wrench to remove and install the crank pulley, nothing moved. He said when replacing timing belts on the V6 he doesn't even remove the tensioner. I think he said he uses the water pump area as leverage and slips the belt from the water pump and install the new belt the same way.

[Mister_Perkins]

thats really stupid to do that.

I would take my car elsewhere. You need to rotate the motor with the tensioner released two rotations to properly align the belt.

Just because someone works at a dealership doesn't mean they are the best mechanic in the world. A lot of times, they are more stupid than a back-yard mechanic

[pmesfun]

On the V6 its just a hydraulic tensioner. He was actually my teacher's former auto tech student and was doing him a favor for me.